"As long-time comic book creators, my brother Lorenzo and I were delighted to be given the opportunity to work with the National Literacy Trust on this new competition. While the illustrated novel is generally perceived as an accepted form of literature, graphic novels or comic books are more often regarded as a very distant, very disreputable, grubby-kneed cousin ... but a cousin with whom everyone secretly wishes to play. The reason being, that a tale told in pictures AND words possesses the unique ability to rise bodily from the page and engage with its audience on both a verbal and a visual level…We hope this competition gives a new generation of creators a chance to stretch their creative and storytelling muscles ... whilst having a lot of FUN in the process."
Interesting! I couldn't have put it better myself. But what makes this competition so amazing? The answers are threefold:
(1) We've produced a brand new character for the competition that has never been seen before!
Dorko is a boy who possesses a wild imagination but none of your typical super hero powers ... and he desperately needs a side-kick!
The first competition, open to every child in every Primary School in the country, is to design Dorko's new friend and write a short passage describing their first meeting (in no more than 250-300 words).
For more information on entering our Primary School competition, click HERE!
(2) Those children old enough to enter our Secondary School competition have a chance to see their winning entry turned into a professional comic page drawn by Lorenzo himself!
To enter you must complete a single page of story, using the picture we've created below as the opening panel. The trick is to use no more than 9 panels on the page.
Where will Dorko's first adventure take him? That's up to YOU!
For more information on entering our Secondary School competition, click HERE!
(3) PRIZES! Aside from the finished comic page, both the winning Primary and Secondary schools will receive a visit from the Etherington Brothers, where we will host a comic-creating workshop. Filled with tips, tricks and more giggles than you can fit in your back pocket, this is surely all the incentive you need to pick up your pencils and start creating.
The deadline for the competition is 5pm Monday, November 28th!
Remember - you've got to be IN it to WIN it!
Further details of the competition can be found HERE.
